A cheatsheet for reading the White family letters

White letters: who’s who

I’m about halfway through initial transcriptions of the White letters, and so far have encountered references to twenty-four different members of the White family spread across three generations. Nicknames, preference for middle or first names and accompanying free variation in the order of names, and generosity in honoring other family members with repeated names can make these difficult to keep straight. James Herbert White appears in census records as “James H.” but can be “Bertie” in letters. I have not seen any instance of Candace Myra White’s full name: she can be Candace M., Myra C., or just Myra (or Mira). Hirams, Georges and Henrys all proliferate across many generations of the White family.

I’ve put together this summary chart to help me or anyone else who dips into the letters. It is (intentionally) not a complete family tree: it shows the family relations only of names I have found in the letters, all of which fall between 1842 and 1860. Other family members (whether previously deceased, not yet born or married into the family, or simply not mentioned in the letters) do not appear here.

Color key:

• orange background: recipients of letters
• yellow background: writers of letters

graph LR

Ebenezer(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Ebenezer_White.html'>Ebenezer White</a><br/>1779-1843"]) --> m1{{"m. 1802"}}
Candace(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Candace-Smith-line/Candace_Smith.html'>Candace Smith</a><br/>1783-1850"]) --> m1

Syrena(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Syrena_Adams.html'>Syrena Adams</a><br/>1808-1876"]) --> m2{{" "}}
m1 --> Horatio(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Horatio_Nelson_White.html'>Horatio Nelson White</a><br/>1802-1886"])
Horatio --> m2


m2 --> Friend(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Friend_Adams_White.html'>Friend Adams White</a><br/>1833-1895"])
m2 --> FrancesE(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Frances_E._White.html'>Frances E. White</a><br/>1834-1911"])
m2 --> WilliamE(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/William_E._White.html'>William E. White</a><br/>1837-1902"])
m2 --> GeorgeA(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Henry_George_White_2.html'>Henry George White</a><br/>1838-1862"])
m2 --> CandaceWhite(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Candace_White.html'>Candace White</a><br/>1842-1930"])







m1 --> Adaline(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Adaline_White.html'>Adaline White</a><br/>1806-1890"])

m1 --> Artemas(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Artemas_White.html'>Artemas White</a><br/>1810-1888"])

Lydia(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Adaline_White.html'>Lydia Brumley</a><br/>1811-1882"]) --> m3{{" "}}
Artemas --> m3



m3 --> MaryElla(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Mary_Ella_White.html'>Mary Ella White</a><br/>1834 - ?"])
m3 --> CandaceM(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Candace_Myra_White.html'>Candace Myra White</a><br/>1845 - ?"])
m3 --> Frederick(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Frederick_D._White.html'>Frederick D. White</a><br/>1851-1938"])
m3 --> HiramWhite(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Hiram_White.html'>Hiram White</a><br/>d. 1851"])


AnnQ(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Ann_Quayle.html'>Ann Quayle</a><br/> - 1860"]) --> m4{{"m. 1840"}}
m1 --> HG(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Henry_George_White.html'>Henry George White</a><br/>1814-1902"])
HG --> m4

m4 --> GeorgeW(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/George_W._White.html'>George W. White</a><br/>1841-1914"])
m4 --> CharlesH(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Charles_H._White.html'>Charles H. White</a><br/>1844-1915"])

m4 --> JamesH(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/James_Herbert_White.html'>James H. White</a><br/>1855-1929"])


m1 --> Hiram(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Hiram_Smith_White.html'>Hiram Smith White</a><br/>1817-1893"])


Hiram --> m5{{" "}}
Cynthia(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Cynthia_Sawyer.html'>Cynthia Sawyer</a><br/>1820-1889"]) --> m5



m5 --> HenryS(["<a href='https://neelsmith.quarto.pub/personal/familyhistory/sources/people/Merrill-line/White-line/Henry_Sawyer_White.html'>Henry Sawyer White</a><br/>1841-1917"])



classDef marriage font-style: italic
class m1,m2,m3,m4,m5 marriage

classDef recipient fill: #FFDBBB
class Horatio,Frederick recipient

classDef sender fill: lightyellow
class Artemas,HG,Ebenezer,Hiram sender

Linked information

The links on each name lead to automatically generated pages. These pages list source material that I have both transcribed (including material outside the White letters) and indexed to the individual, and summarize conclusions about the chronology and family relations of the individual that can be derived from the transcribed sources. Transcribing and indexing each source is slow work, but it means that automated summaries for each person cannot present conclusions without some underlying documentary evidence. As I continue to work on documenting the individuals listed here, I hope that the automated aggregation of source material will be increasingly useful to readers of the White letters or others interested in topics of family or local history involving members of the White family.

Follow the project’s progress

I’m using the tag White letters as I post new content about the White family letters project. You can either look for the tag on the list of posts, or follow a direct link to White letters.

If you’re interested in how I manage the information to generate this web site, I’ll use the tag DIY history for posts on that topic.